Plunge Your Dagger
by Egglette
Summary: In a world where the titans are a group of four, a dark bird has driven herself past insanity and lives only to kill. In an attempt to stop the murderous witch, the Titans are drawn into a Prophecy older than time itself. Light and dark are about to becom


**What's this? ANOTHER story? While you have others on hiatus? You naughty child, you. **

**Yeah. WARNING: not for the mild-hearted. This will probably creep you out. And will be slow in production. Rated M for a reason. Pairings are the usual; BBRae, RobStar, and no Cy pairings, as welll...meh, you'll see. Sorry Cy. -hands head in shame-**

**Summary: In a world where the titans are a group of four, a dark bird has driven herself past insanity and lives only to kill. In an attempt to stop the murderous witch, the Titans are drawn into a Prophecy older than time itself. Light and dark are about to become very apparent...**

* * *

…_A child? She was to kill a child? What kind of madman—_

"_I know what you're thinking Raven, and it is a little extreme of me to give you such a…horrific job, but remember our little talk," Slade interrupted. He talked in a sort of sing-song tone as he walked a full circle around her, "You do want the nightmares to stop, don't you?"_

_Her lip trembled. The girl in the photo was staring up at her, begging for her life. Her hands shook around the photograph. "Yes, but—"_

"_Then you need to conquer your fear. Raven, you need to face the fact that you are alone in the world. Your soul has been long damned, since before you were born, and you cannot help your destiny." His tone suddenly softened as he leant down to her level, "These people should be **thanking** you, Raven, for giving them a chance at their Heaven. After all," he paused, taking the photo and crumpling it into a small wad of paper, "who wants to be a slab of stone for the rest of eternity?" _

_He was right. Slade was always right. It was if the right words always came to him; he never said anything wrong. What she was about to do was wrong. But he made it seem so…right. "Take us there, will you Raven?" He asked, but the wording seemed more of a command than a request. She nodded dumbly and whispered her mantra._

_As the walls of her own portal engulfed them, Raven knew there was no turning back now. They would be at the girl's house in moments and Slade would be punished by **him** if the task was not carried out, and then of course Slade would vent his anger through her. He'd give her a worse target, like he was doing to her now. It wasn't her fault she hadn't wanted to kill the green teenager Slade so despised…_

_Slade handed her the dagger. It was navy blue with a raven's wings twisting up the handle. Its eye was the brightest thing on it, and it was staring at her. 'Do it,' it taunted. 'Plunge me hard.'_

_With a shaky hand and a trembling chin, Raven slowly lowered the blade towards the girl. "I know you can do it, Raven. Just remember, they will all appreciate it in the long run. **Trust me**."_

_And she did. She trusted him with all her might. Because she no one else to trust. _

_The first kill had been made. Slade was definitely right: these people should thank her. She was only prolonging the inevitable, and in doing so, helping them. As the blood began to stain through the sheets, she realized she craved more. She was thirsty. But she was satisfied—for now. _

---

There wasn't a stir in the house; all was calm and peaceful. The grandfather clock's bells echoed down a corridor, the faint snoring of a man escaped a room. The rustling of sheets could be heard, and an occasional click of claws against tiles ricocheted off the walls. A figure slipped past the slightly ajar door of a room of a child, the sleeping mutt dog, and into the room of a sleeping couple.

Raven leaned against the bookcase, watching the male sleeping soundly. She cocked her head, blinking with interested eyes. This was the man Slade had insisted on? He was hardly a target. But then again, lately Slade had been driving her up the wall with the strangest of victims.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she whispered, engulfing the man in a black light. He didn't wake, and it was probably for the better. She closed her fist and phased through the wall, carrying the sleeping man with her. Once inside the warehouse, she brought the man five feet in the air and let him drop.

"Good evening," Raven said dully, buffing her nails against her chest.

The man looked up at Raven with a sleepy gaze. "Who… Where… Where the fuck did Lydia put damned that remote?" Raven couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"Mr…Jackson, was it?"

"Johnson," he corrected. He still hadn't realized what was going on.

"Well, Mr. _Johnson_," she smiled chillingly, "pleasure to meet you. My name is Raven." At this the man's eyes bulged. Raven smiled inwardly; it was beginning to sink in. He knew who she was and she was glade. She, unlike her mentor, hated going on about how he was superior and had the upper-hand and was _clearly_ beyond any mental capacity he could begin to imagine—

"Heard of me?" she mused, twirling the dagger in her hand.

"W-What d-do you want w-with me?" he choked out. Raven could sense the fear radiating off him, and she liked it. Fear made her stronger. Fear was her steroids, stroking her ego and soothing her mind. Her smile only grew.

"**I** don't want anything, actually. Why someone wants you dead isn't my business," she lied. "I just kill; it's easier not to ask questions," Raven replied shortly, throwing aside her cloak. She just _hated_ to get blood on it. She crouched down to his level.

"So how do you want it? Quick or slow and painful? Seeing the blood is always the fun part, and swishing your head off would make it painless for you," she offered. For a moment, the man thought she was joking. The moonlight reflected through the skylight, giving a sliver of her face light. It was clear she wasn't.

_Not that it was expected_, he thought. The Raven was dark and heartless, rumored to be past insanity. She was both a witch and mercenary; if you were her target, you would not live to see the next sunrise.

Excuses began to sputter out of his mouth uncontrollably, "I have a family! M-my job! My step-mother is dying…" he pleaded, scooting as far away from her as possible.

_Pathetic_, Raven thought. _Excuses, excuses_. Couldn't they just take death like a noble person? Raven sighed and threw her head around. "I have a family, I'm engaged, I've saved lives, I'm a superhero, yadda-yadda. I've heard them all."

The man paused as something clicked in his head. "Y-you killed Terra, didn't you?" The man's eyes had grown wide with fear; the geomancer had been rumored to have committed suicide. Had the femme fatale really been the cause of her death? _I knew she was crazy…but a superhero? _

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It's all a blur to me anyhow. I like to assume I did, since God knows I hated the little bitch's guts," Raven said. She threw the dagger in the air one last time, catching it by its handle. It was now aimed in the direction of the man's heart.

"H-her body was never found…" he whispered, lost in his own thought.

"Can't say the same for yours," Raven said in her monotonous voice. She brought down the dagger.

Ten minutes later, Raven walked out of the warehouse once again twirling her weapon and licking the blood from her fingers.

---

Hours later, just as the sun was rising over the water, in a T-shaped tower that resided on a small island in the middle of the bay, a pair of doors swished open. A cheerful young man, his skin tinted green, hopped down the stairs and into a chair. He swung in the stool and smiled up at his friend as his fingers drummed the counter.

"What's on the menu this morning, Cy?" He asked curiously, drumming his fingers against the counter.

"Bacon, eggs, sausage…" The half-teen, half-machine counted off on his fingers, eyes pointed up as though reading a list above his head. The green-skinned boy slapped his forehead and groaned. Before he could rebuttal, the same doors he'd entered through swished open.

Another boy, also clad in spandex (though his was much brighter in color), entered. His face was painted with a frown, holding a newspaper tightly in one hand.

"Hey Rob," the green superhero greeted, "You're just in time for another Meat vs. Vegan smack down."

"Not now, Beast Boy," Robin growled, sliding into the booth shared by the only woman on the superhero team since Terra. She looked at him quizzically, but mostly her eyes were fixed on the newspaper he looked about to rip apart.

"What is wrong, Robin?" She asked curiously. Robin slapped down the newspaper, pointing at the bold writing in the headline.

Both boys in the kitchen immediately were intrigued and wandered to the table. "Oh man…" Cyborg whispered. He leaned back in the booth and shook his head, as if that were some way to make it not true.

"Not again!" Beast Boy exclaimed, throwing his head and hands back.

"'The Raven strikes again," Robin read angrily, "'yes, it seems the mysterious assassin known as The Raven has resurfaced once again. Her attacks seem to be growing more frequent, as it is the second this month.'"

"How could anyone be so cruel?" Starfire wailed. "Perhaps if she had some friends, she would not be so coldhearted." Beast Boy's fists clenched and he turned rapidly on Starfire, jabbing a finger inches away from her upper chest.

"Whether or not you have friends doesn't change who you are, Star!" Cyborg and Robin exchanged glances. When Beast Boy was acting himself, he would've shouted out 'Hey, I rhymed!', and the fact that he hadn't made them all especially nervous. "She's a killer, and always will be. There's nothing you can do to change that."

He stormed out, leaving the three friends watching and worried. "I did not mean…" Starfire whispered, fearing she had done something wrong. It wasn't her fault she was unfamiliar with their ways… She had simply thought that no matter where you are or what planet you're from, friends can determine your happiness.

"No, Star. Don't apologize. He's still upset about Terra, that's all. The Raven is a sensitive subject with him; we just need to be more careful," Robin said. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a weak smile, but his tone wasn't nearly as reassuring as Starfire would've liked. Cyborg sighed and resumed his place in the kitchen.

"Sad thing is, we can't do anything until after she strikes. She kills in the dead of night, and each time she takes her victim somewhere different. I mean, how are we supposed to track her?" Cyborg mulled, sighing as he flipped a pancake.

"What's stranger, her victims aren't all who you would think. She's said to be a mercenary, right, so she kills for money. She doesn't choose her victims, but still. This last guy was a man working for Queen Industries with a wife and a kid. Nice suburban home, a dog probably, and a solid paycheck. Why?" Robin mused, pushing his fist under his chin.

"I do not think we are supposed to know," Starfire chimed in. "Maybe it is something greater than us, something we are not meant to understand or hear."

"We're the Teen Titans; we're supposed to know. People aren't supposed to die under our watch." Robin punched a fist into his hand, growling. He got up and typed some numbers in a computer screen by the couch. "Next time she attacks, we'll be ready."

Cyborg opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the red flash of the alarm. Beast Boy reentered, albeit looking rather annoyed and Robin, ever duteous, said his trademark phrase, "Titans, go!"

---

_A pretty girl, arms bound together by some sort of restraint… If eyes are the window to her soul, her window was broken. They had lifted the rock slowly, tauntingly, juggling from hand to hand… Aimed for the throw and crash! The only remnants lay shattered on the ground, piercing the skin and forcing the blood to run…_

_The faint smell of trash can and garbage, as though someone had been spending his weeks in an alley, struggling to find the only food he could. He saw no evil, he heard no evil. He saw no family; he heard no 'I love you's… _

_A hooded face—like her own—to hide the monster that he was, a distrusting aura that would be his downfall. An understatement would be to say his heart was cold; for the only blood it pumped was black. It gave him life—albeit raised oil prices—and he hated it with every bit of human he had left in him…_

_An angered soul, a stubborn and tempered quality His vein throbbed with the fury that pushed into the depths of obsession, of proving himself that he was more than what he was thought to be. 'I will show them, and I will do it on my own!' Foolish boy…_

_The voice nagged again, 'Go! Step forward; you will thank me in the long run…'_

"_No," she spoke out, forcing herself to look away. "No, no, **no**!" 'You can't make me…I refuse to hurt anymore…'_

'_Please! Gather the courage; you can't force yourself to be alone like this—'_

"_I want to be alone," Raven whispered. A tear caught in the moonlight and stained her cheek, glimmering with the thoughts of what could be. "When you're alone, no one can get hurt…"_

'_No one but yourself,' the voice argued. _

_The voice remained ignored as she trekked onward. She didn't seem to notice the fact that her cloak was becoming wet from the silent sobs, and if she did, she didn't seem to care. _

---

"Drop that girl!" Robin commanded, forcefully pointing a finger at the direction of Raven and the blonde child she held at blade's length. Raven rolled her eyes and released the collar of the hemmed pink nightgown, letting the child fall to the asphalt with a _thud_.

"So you've finally found me."

"It was only a matter of strategic planning. It was completely obvious who your next victim would be and where it would take place. Simple logic," Robin drawled. Raven snorted, watching as her target scramble away. Robin noted her cloak was off to the side; her trademark sign she intended to kill.

"In other words—you spread out your team to look for me. You just found me first, I suppose. Give yourself a pat on the back."

"We don't have time for this," he said angrily, pulling out the Bo staff. It instantly doubled in size as his eyes turned to slits.

"For once, you're right," Raven said, restraining a giggle. She bit her tongue to keep from laughing too hard. A garbage can engulfed in black light and exploded. She resorted to laughing softly as she shook her head, "There isn't much time left at all."

Slowly, Robin lowered his staff and looked at her with wide eyes. He instantly regained himself and resumed his battle position, but remained apprehensive. "What are you planning?"

She chuckled lowly, "How many people have you asked that? How many times? Honestly Robin, you need to really hire someone to work on those catch phrases—"

"Quit messing with me! You're insane, do you know that?"

"Of course I do," Raven hissed. "I'm well aware of what I am." The left side of her lips twisted into a smile. She played with the dagger, rolling her eyes left and right. Abruptly she stopped and said, "You caught me on a particularly difficult night."

"What do you—" Robin was interrupted by the screech of a car's breaks. He turned and saw Cyborg stepping out of the T-car. His face was grim, as it was whenever they faced The Raven. Both turned their heads at the nick of time to see Raven leaping onto a black energy platform and taking off in the air. Acting quickly, Cyborg hopped back into his car and Robin his motorcycle. They gave a whir of their engines for a moment and sped off in the direction she had left.

"Beast Boy and Star are following a few miles behind. I'm sending them our locations, but they won't be able to catch up for a good five minutes," he said over the communicator. Robin nodded his affirmative and sped up. "I've got a lock! She's heading west on Freemont; looks like she's heading to the old library."

"Did you say the library on Freemont? Isn't that slated for demolition in a few days?"

"That's what the readouts say," said Cyborg, never loosing focus of the wheel as his eyes scanned the miniature computer in the car.

"But why would she be heading there?"

"I'm not sure," Cyborg replied. "Did she say anything to you before I showed up?"

Robin paused as he tried to gather his thoughts. "She said something about there not being much time left at all…" He trailed off but as if he had an epiphany, he picked himself up, "And that it was a particularly special night."

"Did she say anything else?"

"No," Robin said confidently. "But she was laughing… It was really eerie."

"Are we talking the way Dr. Light laughs when he's overconfident and thinks he's about to win, or the way Slade laughs when he knows something you don't?"

"Neither," Robin said. "It was like… It was like she was trying to cry but it came out in giggles instead."

Cyborg had no immediate response to that, nor did he think he would for a while. Instead he focused on what he knew of The Raven; maybe that would lead to them too more insight on what she had planned. He remembered seeing her on the day they first met, when Starfire had first arrived on Earth. He chuckled a little, remembering how forceful she had been—with Robin especially.

She'd been standing in the back, observing as if she were a normal citizen. It was obvious by her clothes that she was not. She had looked so different then, but in unusual ways. The Raven never looked in control, always about to crack at any moment, but she had had a certain look on her face. It was that of a child; with her wide eyes sprinkled with unshed tears. The last he time remembered seeing her was when they were trying to figure out what the hell Star was. She had outreached one arm, unaware, but immediately retracted it once she realized what she had done. Then she had turned on her heel and he didn't see her until years later.

What had happened to her that made her crazy? Maybe Star was right. Maybe all she did need were friends…

He quickly shook the thought off. He couldn't blame Star for thinking that. Although it was a reasonable theory, it was Beast Boy who had been right: having friends _never_ changes who you are.

---

Miles below where Cyborg drove, still deep in thought, a deep, throaty laugh filled the fiery chamber. With a booming voice, larger occupant spoke, "Very good Slade. You continue to please me. Never again will she doubt her full potential."

The smaller of the two rocked on his heels. "No," Slade murmured, "nevermore."

* * *

**Well? What did you think? Be honest, please. Will be continued/discontinued depending on reviews.**


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